Pro football player. He was taken in the 2nd round of the 1944 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions after graduating from the University of Tennessee. His pro career was put on hold when he was inducted into the United States Army Air Corps. During the war, he played football for Randolph Field in 1944 and the AAFTC Skymasters in 1945. He played a full season for the Lions in 1946, leading the league in punting average as a rookie. He still holds the NFL record for a single-game punting average. On November 24, 1946, he averaged 61.75 yards for four punts against the Chicago Bears. He played halfback and defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons in 1947 and 1948. Robert Gale Cifers finished his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers in 1949.